Sports Journalism

[PurpleandBlackBlood]

Hey guys. I'm going to be a freshman at towson university in the fall and i plan on majoring in sports journalism.. Im going to be an NFL analyst on ESPN/CBS/FOX someday. I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas of where I could possibly get a part-time sports writing job. even if its like a once a week small column.. i was going to try the baltimore sun but i have no idea where to go or who to talk to..

[theFRANCHISE]

Just a quick note, you can't advertise your blog since that's against the rules.

That said, an easy way to start in sports journalism is to get involved with a newspaper, either at the college or professional level. Print media is a tricky business, but it's worthwhile if you truly enjoy it. Alternately, if you wish to be an analyst, you'll want to go into broadcasting. Start with radio and TV broadcasting, specifically your college's radio and TV stations. Speaking from personal experience as a radio DJ, you'll learn so much more from hands-on experience than you ever would in a classroom. Not coincidentally, I got my start at WVUD (the University of Delaware's radio station) in the sports department before I moved onto music.

[PurpleandBlackBlood]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' date='25 June 2010 - 01:11 AM' timestamp='1277442710' post='426215']
Just a quick note, you can't advertise your blog since that's against the rules.

That said, an easy way to start in sports journalism is to get involved with a newspaper, either at the college or professional level. Print media is a tricky business, but it's worthwhile if you truly enjoy it. Alternately, if you wish to be an analyst, you'll want to go into broadcasting. Start with radio and TV broadcasting, specifically your college's radio and TV stations. Speaking from personal experience as a radio DJ, you'll learn so much more from hands-on experience than you ever would in a classroom. Not coincidentally, I got my start at WVUD (the University of Delaware's radio station) in the sports department before I moved onto music.
[/quote]

What radio station are you at? My Dad is on 35 across the country. His main two are 93.1 WPOC in Baltimore and 98.7 WMZQ in Washington My mom used to be an anchor on WJZ 13 in Baltimore so I definitely have the genes.

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='PurpleandBlackBlood' date='25 June 2010 - 01:14 AM' timestamp='1277442872' post='426217']
What radio station are you at? My Dad is on 35 across the country. His main two are 93.1 WPOC in Baltimore and 98.7 WMZQ in Washington My mom used to be an anchor on WJZ 13 in Baltimore so I definitely have the genes.
[/quote]
I'm currently working for 91.3 WVUD in Newark, Delaware. I'm currently on the station's operations board after a little over a year's experience here. Even though I'm graduating next year, I plan on remaining with the station because of my passion for radio.

It's great to see that you have the genes. All that's left is whether or not you're willing to put the work in. Anyone can be a DJ, it's just a matter of whether you want to take the necessary steps to improve and become a [i]great[/i] DJ. A lot of what I've learned, I've had to teach myself and learn through experience. I'll have to say, though, this has been one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had in my life and I don't regret a bit of it.

If you're entering sports broadcasting, the one piece of advice I'll give you is to be concise and speak in soundbytes. You only have so much time to get your point across and you never want to lose a listener by being long-winded. Therefore, don't mince words and learn to get to the point ASAP. Make every other sentence matter and try not to regurgitate material that you hear elsewhere. If you can provide original thoughts, people will gravitate towards you. Also, speak with conviction; don't sound like you're reading off a sheet of paper and say every word like you mean it.

[PurpleandBlackBlood]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' date='25 June 2010 - 01:19 AM' timestamp='1277443167' post='426218']
I'm currently working for 91.3 WVUD in Newark, Delaware. I'm currently on the station's operations board after a little over a year's experience here. Even though I'm graduating next year, I plan on remaining with the station because of my passion for radio.

It's great to see that you have the genes. All that's left is whether or not you're willing to put the work in. Anyone can be a DJ, it's just a matter of whether you want to take the necessary steps to improve and become a [i]great[/i] DJ. A lot of what I've learned, I've had to teach myself and learn through experience. I'll have to say, though, this has been one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had in my life and I don't regret a bit of it.

If you're entering sports broadcasting, the one piece of advice I'll give you is to be concise and speak in soundbytes. You only have so much time to get your point across and you never want to lose a listener by being long-winded. Therefore, don't mince words and learn to get to the point ASAP. Make every other sentence matter and try not to regurgitate material that you hear elsewhere. If you can provide original thoughts, people will gravitate towards you. Also, speak with conviction; don't sound like you're reading off a sheet of paper and say every word like you mean it.
[/quote]

thanks for the words of wisdom

[AwakenTheDemon]

Good luck, man. I've always wanted to get into journalism as well, only for music or video games. Like you, I used to keep a blog of my reviews, and got some good feedback from friends and family. However, I just never really pursued it as much as I've wanted to. Hopefully it all works out for ya.

[PurpleandBlackBlood]

[quote name='AwakenTheDemon' date='25 June 2010 - 01:46 AM' timestamp='1277444778' post='426225']
Good luck, man. I've always wanted to get into journalism as well, only for music or video games. Like you, I used to keep a blog of my reviews, and got some good feedback from friends and family. However, I just never really pursued it as much as I've wanted to. Hopefully it all works out for ya.
[/quote]
thanks alot

[Alexir]

[quote name='PurpleandBlackBlood' date='25 June 2010 - 01:08 AM' timestamp='1277442536' post='426213']
Hey guys. I'm going to be a freshman at towson university in the fall and i plan on majoring in sports journalism.. Im going to be an NFL analyst on ESPN/CBS/FOX someday. I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas of where I could possibly get a part-time sports writing job. even if its like a once a week small column.. i was going to try the baltimore sun but i have no idea where to go or who to talk to..
[/quote]

Two Classes you're going to want to take is Broadcast Performance (Appleby) and after that take Sportscasting (John Turner).

For the Sportscasting class, we actually got to go to Camden Yards and call a game.

You are going to one to take audio 1 as well just to get used to switchboards.

All of these are EMF classes you should take while doing Journalism.